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All the handset majors have been studying the potential for using augmented reality to differentiate their user experiences and applications, and now LG and Nokia are bringing that a step closer to the mainstream.

Mainly the preserve of start-up innovators so far, AR features will be preloaded into a smartphone by LG as early as this summer, while Nokia was also outlining AR plans in Barcelona last week. The technology overlays a real world view with 3D graphics to offer an interactive and rich means of accessing data on items in view. Most commonly, the phone's camera is used to point at objects and retrieve information.

The first LG phone to come with this technology as standard will be the Android-based LU2300, which will be released in Korea in the second quarter and subsequently in other world markets.

For Nokia, AR could be a way to sustain the high momentum it has built up behind its mapping and location services, since it made its Maps software free last month. The firm's senior VP for smartphones, Jo Harlow, said the company would look to incorporate AR in Ovi Maps and other applications. Sources said AR mapping would probably make its appearance on selected N and X series smartphones by year end.

"Well I think what I get excited about and that you can see on the horizon are the types of things that really enhance the services that we're offering, the kinds of things that enhance the maps experience in the areas of augmented reality," she said during an interview with Nokia Conversations, the company's official blog. "You can see how those kinds of technologies really make that just a fantastic experience for consumers."

Last year, Nokia entered into a joint R&D agreement with the University of Southern California to study AR technology.

Harlow also touched on 3D capabilities during the interview, saying: " I think that the opportunity for mobile actually could be earlier in terms of 3D than the typical television development."

Nokia demonstrated 3D (fairly simple, but without goggles) on its N810 Internet Tablet at Nokia World last fall, though it has not shown the system on phones yet.

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